asteroseismology

Definition of asteroseismology

:the study of vibrations in the material that makes up stars

Also covered is the development of asteroseismology, including the impressive results obtained from analysis of oscillations of white dwarfs, and the early results from emerging studies of solar-like oscillations in other stars.

—Jorgen Christensen-Dalsgaard, Nature, 8 Jan. 2004

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asteroseismologist

play \ˌa-stə-(ˌ)rō-sīz-ˈmä-lə-jist,-sīs-\noun, pluralasteroseismologists

Asteroseismologists measure the rhythmic flickers of stars, which act a bit like the star's pulse, to determine the mass, diameter, age and even the inner composition of the star.

Origin and Etymology of asteroseismology

Note:The word was used, if not introduced, by the British astronomer Douglas Gough in “Oscillations as a probe of the Sun’s interior,” Nature, vol. 304/no. 5928 (August 25, 1983), pp. 689-90; the article is a report on a conference with the same title held at the University of Catania on June 20-24, 1983.